Born Lev Rosenberg to a middle-class Jewish family in Belarus, Léon Bakst studied art in St. Petersburg and Paris. His close collaboration with the dancer and choreographer Serge Diaghilev resulted in striking costumes and scenery for the Ballets Russes. Drawing on folk art, Middle Eastern, and Asian motifs, Bakst’s sensuous designs caused a sensation throughout Europe.

In 1911, the celebrated dancer and actress Ida Rubinstein (1885–1960) produced a ballet in Paris called Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien. With a book by Gabriele D’Annunzio, music by Claude Debussy, and choreography by Michel Fokine, the ballet was one of great triumphs of the period. The top drawing is a costume study for Rubinstein, who reportedly stunned Paris audiences with her poignant acting. The drawing below is a costume design for the equally celebrated ballerina Anna Pavlova (1881–1931) in the production of Oriental Fanstasy (also called Ballet Hindu), which opened in London in October 1913, and was performed later that same month in Boston.

Isabella Stewart Gardner’s passion for music and dance nearly equalled her interest in the visual arts. The avant-garde dancer Ruth St. Denis performed at Fenway Court in 1906, and these drawings present further evidence of Mrs. Gardner’s interest in performance. Both drawings were purchased in 1914 at a touring exhibition of Bakst’s drawings held at the Boston Art Club.